


We Could Be the Greatest

by cara1317



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Childhood, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Summer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2016-08-26
Packaged: 2018-08-11 04:18:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7875937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cara1317/pseuds/cara1317
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I'm Tooru," says the boy, grinning wide, and Hajime feels a little bit breathless. "Who's Dino-chan?"</p><p>(aka the childhood au we all need)</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Could Be the Greatest

**Author's Note:**

  * For [viria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/viria/gifts), [kittlekrattle](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=kittlekrattle).



> Second fic! I think I need more fluff in my life (•̀ᴗ•́)و 
> 
> Partly inspired by the lovely [iwaoi comic](http://viria.tumblr.com/post/132611918368/i-had-this-idea-since-late-august-or-so-and-it) done by the equally lovely [Vika (@viria)](http://viria.tumblr.com) and the [Moments fanzine](http://kittlekrattle.tumblr.com/tagged/iwaoimomentszine) organized by kami on tumblr! (@kittlekrattle) Please check out the art, it's absolutely beautiful and I'm so lucky to have gotten a copy of it ✧  
> Shoutout to the lovely Dino-chan in real life, you're awesome! ♡

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the sneaky beetle that he'd been trying to catch for weeks now. In the chaos of screaming kids running around, it wasn't difficult to slip off the wooden chair, retrieve his net and special jar, and slink off into the edge of the woods.

The chaos fades into background noise for the forest sounds he's come to love, and Hajime takes a deep breath.

"Yosh!" He grips the rod of the net tighter in his hand, and puffs out his chest. "I'm coming for you, Dino-chan!"

He's just about to head off in the direction he saw the beetle go when a branch snaps behind him. Hajime whirls around. The shrubbery shivers and shakes, and then a grubby hand pushes through the leaves, revealing a mop of brown hair and a wrinkled black shirt. Hajime jerks back a step, and the pole of the net catches on the ground. Off-balance, he wobbles and starts to fall, only to have a pair of sticky hands wrap around his arm and pull him back to a standing position.

"I'm Tooru," says the boy, grinning wide, and Hajime feels a little bit breathless. "Who's Dino-chan?"

"Uh-- Dino is-- um-- a beetle?" he stammers out.

"Oooh," goes the boy, and Hajime swears his eyes sparkle. "A beetle, huh? Is he pretty?"

 _"She,"_ says Hajime.

"Right," Tooru replies, looking very serious.

And that's all it takes for Hajime to beam right back at this so-called Tooru. "Yeah, she is pretty! Want to help me catch her?"

Tooru nods eagerly, letting go of Hajime's arm, and Hajime carefully transfers the jar into his waiting hands. The hot stickiness of the summer air forms condensation on the glass, and Tooru takes the opportunity to draw a squiggly alien in the fog.

"Look, Hajime, it's Dino!" he says, and turns the jar around for him to see.

Hajime laughs. "Silly, Dino doesn't look like that. You'll see! I think she headed this way…"

He turns around and Tooru trots after him.

\---

They manage to stay in the woods for at least a good two hours before they hear voices ringing out through the trees, calling their names.

"Oh!" says Tooru brightly, standing up from where they've been poking under logs. "That's my mom! I left her at the party."

Hajime frowns a bit, and gives a particularly stubborn jab to the dirt by his sandaled feet. "Right, the party." He sighs and drops the stick. "We should prob'ly go back." He stands, brushing off his hands and knees, and notices the exceptional quiet of his companion. "Tooru?"

Turning, he finds Tooru staring in awe at a nearby tree trunk. He tugs on Hajime's sleeve. "Is that…"

"… Dino," breathes Hajime, and he drags his eyes away from the beetle to look at Tooru. "You found her!"

\---

Ten tries and several scratches later, Hajime and Tooru tumble out of the trees and back into the Iwaizumis' backyard. Their parents descend on them like concerned mother hens, clucking over the state of their clothes and the faint red lines criss-crossing their arms.

"Hajime, I cannot believe you ran off like that!" She steadies her hands on his shoulders. "What about all your guests?"

Tooru's head whips around from facing his own mother. "You're the birthday boy?" he gasps.

Hajime scrubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah, I guess."

"You're also the _host_ , Hajime, you should be more polite to everyone who came to wish you well today!"

Hajime wrinkles his nose, but his mother throws hasty smiles at the rest of the parents and their kids, and ushers him into the house before he can say another word.

They slip off their shoes at the mat and climb up the stairs to his room. He takes off his shirt and carefully places it in the laundry hamper, while his mother rummages through his drawers. Finding another acceptable one, she helps Hajime fit his head and arms through the right holes.

"Really, what were you even doing in the woods with Tooru-kun?"

"I was bored," he says, voice muffled by the shirt. "And nobody was talking to me, they were all playing games."

She tugs the collar down over his ears. "Well, maybe try talking to the other kids. I'm sure they'll let you join them."

He sighs. "Okay, mom."

She smiles at him. "I'm glad to see you made a new friend, though. Tooru looks like he could use one, too," and ruffles his hair, making Hajime giggle and duck away from her hand.

\---

Hajime carefully laces up his shoes, making sure they're double-knotted properly with the bunny method, and pushes out the door. He spots Tooru quickly, sitting at the table, head propped up on his hand.

Sliding into the seat next to him, he pokes Tooru's arm. Tooru brightens, and lifts his head. "Hajime!" He grabs at his hand. "I thought your mom was going to keep you in your room forever and make us all leave, with no cake or ice cream!"

"No way!" says Hajime, shoving at Tooru. "My mom would never do that! She's all about proper etiquette and being polite to other people."

"It's not nice to shove people," says Tooru, and he sniffs and crosses his arms.

"Wha-- that wasn't-- I--" stutters Hajime, and he sits on his hands so he doesn't shove this boy, again.

Tooru breaks out into a smile, and laughs. "I'm just teasing you, dummy."

Hajime scoffs. "If anyone's the dummy here, it's you!" He pulls his hands out from under him and pushes at Tooru again, for good measure.

A woman walks by and kisses the top of Tooru's head. "Be good, Tooru, we don't want to scare off your new friend now, do we?"

"Mooooom," Tooru whines, and scrubs hastily at his hair, rearranging his curls into a cowlick. Hajime snickers.

\---

By the time cake comes out, Tooru's hair has fallen back into its natural part, and Hajime has learned that Tooru's just moved into the old house next door, with the "dusty attic and windows you can see miles from, all the way to Tokyo!" He learns that Tooru likes the stars, and that his family had to move because aliens were trying to abduct them, and that Tooru's older sister is going to help him put the glow stars back on his ceiling, and that "you can come too, we can design them into constellations!" He learns that Tooru was attacked by a wild crow once, and that Tooru can untangle anything, even all his mother's necklaces, and that Tooru wants to become a scientist so he can save the world. He learns that Tooru likes to _talk_ , but that it's nice to listen to someone, and that he doesn't mind it when Tooru's excited hands almost smack him in the face with their dizzying patterns.

The candles on the cake glow despite the bright afternoon sun, flickering in the idle summer breeze. Everyone sings, clapping their hands along to the tune, and they cheer when he blows out the candles. (Tooru helps him blow out the seventh one after he started running out of air.) His mother helps him cut the cake into neat slices, and then parents rush to help serve everyone before the ice cream melts.

Hajime takes his first bite and feels like he could melt himself, it's so good. A glance at Tooru shows him in a similar state, fork still stuck in his mouth and a blissful expression on his face.

His mother still stands at the head of the table, now serving the adults, and Hajime impulsively throws his arms around her waist in a brief hug. She looks down, surprised, but squeezes his shoulder and smiles.

"Happy birthday, Hajime."

Tooru echoes the sentiment around a mouthful of ice cream, and when Hajime laughs, Tooru sticks his finger in the puddle on his plate and smudges it across Hajime's cheek. His mother shakes her head at them.

They both see the smile on her face anyways.

\---

"Gifts!" someone shouts, and immediately the kids start chanting, clapping their hands for emphasis.

Hajime's mother laughs and holds up her hands, and they quiet down. One by one, the gifts are passed up the table to the birthday boy, all different colors, sparkling and shining in the sun. Hajime gets little dinosaur figurines, a new pencil box, sets of crayons and markers, and, best of all, a red bike from his parents. He wants to ride it right away, but his father promises to take him later today, and he agrees.

Throughout all of this, Tooru's been swinging his feet restlessly, and now his hands grip the edges of his seat so tightly that Hajime worries he'll splinter right through the wood.

He nudges him under the table, as his mother thanks everyone for coming. Tooru jumps, as if he forgot that Hajime was there.

"I… didn't bring anything with me to give you today."

"That's okay. You just moved here! I guess you'll just have to give me something _really_ good next year," he teases.

Tooru rubs at a stain on the tablecloth, then lifts his eyes to look at Hajime properly. "Yeah, I guess," he agrees, and gives him a little half smile.

\---

After dinner, Hajime helps carry the plates and bowls into the kitchen, where his dad pats him on the head and tells him they'll go for a bike ride after he finishes washing the dishes. Hajime _walks_ quickly to the stairs (not running, of course) when he catches a glimpse of someone in their yard. He backtracks to the window in the living room and peers out to see familiar clothes and scruffy brown hair. Padding to the door, he unlocks it and pulls it open with some effort. Tooru looks surprised, both hands wrapped around a lumpy burlap sack.

"Tooru?"

"Ah, hi," says Tooru, a bit abashed.

"What are you doing here?"

He shifts his feet.

"…Wanna come in?"

"No, I can't, I gotta go home soon." There's a pause. He clears his throat. "I just wanted to give this to you." He thrusts the burlap sack towards Hajime. "For your birthday."

"You got me a gift?" Hajime says, confused but pleased.

"Yeah, it's supposed to be your special day and everything."

Hajime smiles, and sets the package on the floor. Tooru crouches too, and when Hajime uncovers it, he gets to see the delight that spreads across Hajime's face.

"Dino!" He looks up in disbelief. "But… we lost Dino today." He looks at Tooru again, really looks, and notices the extra bandaids on his knees and the scratch on his nose that wasn't there before.

Tooru can practically see the gears clicking in his head, and bounces, waiting.

"You went back? To look for Dino?"

He shakes his head. "She came back! I went home and she was sitting on the tree in my backyar-- oomph!"

Tooru topples over, Hajime's tight hug throwing his balance askew. His voice is muffled in Tooru's left shoulder, but he hears it anyways.

"Best. Birthday. Gift. Ever."

\---

"Hajime?" questions his mother, finding the two of them at the doorstep. "Ah, Tooru-kun, hello."

He springs to his feet and grabs the glass jar. "Mom, look! Tooru brought me Dino-chan!"

"I see." She leans in close, examining the beetle closely. "Well, isn't she a pretty one."

Tooru's smile rivals the intensity of the setting sun. "Of course! Me an' Hajime caught her!"

At that, Hajime feels a burst of pride. _Me and Hajime._ Huh. He likes the sound of that.

**Author's Note:**

> I may have sat down and written this at 2am... My mom changed the tracking settings on my documents and I thought it said 10k words, but it was characters, ahaha. I'll get to a 10k fic someday! ໒( ⇀‸↼ )७
> 
> (( please cheer me on with kudos/comments from your lovely selves! ))


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